Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Good for Clinton

Link:

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, a longtime supporter of Sen. Joseph Lieberman, said Tuesday she will not back the Connecticut Democrat's bid for re-election if he loses their party's primary.

"I've known Joe Lieberman for more than thirty years. I have been pleased to support him in his campaign for re-election, and hope that he is our party's nominee," the former first lady said in a statement issued by aides.

"But I want to be clear that I will support the nominee chosen by Connecticut Democrats in their primary," the New York Democrat added. "I believe in the Democratic Party, and I believe we must honor the decisions made by Democratic primary voters."


Ideally leading Democrats would be rather repulsed by Lieberman's "have it both ways" strategy, but I recognize that right or wrong supporting incumbents is so ingrained in Washington culture that it's almost impossible to dislodge. Given that, this rather unequivocal statement by Clinton is quite refreshing.